Page 6 of Royally Scr*wed

He slowly turns to face me, exhaustion painted under his eyes and present in the frown on his lips. “I don’t deserve you, Charlie,” he tells me with a slow, gentle kiss. “But I’m damn sure glad you’re here.”

“I’ll always be here,” I promise him even though that promise terrifies the hell out of me right now.

Things between us are what I’d call – ever evolving. Or a whirlwind. Perhaps that’s a better word.

Jude brushes a strand of hair behind my ear and kisses me again. “I’ll never be able to repay you for pulling you into this world. Maybe I was a fool to think that our wedding day would be the beginning of something filled with hope, with happiness. I never anticipated the carnage that would occur.”

“None of us did,” I tell him as I cup his face in my hands. “What we can do is, turn this all around. We can be the hope for the people of Herefirth. We can take something so tragic and terrifying and transform it into something positive. You’re capable of that Jude.”

He rests his forehead on mine and sighs. “Charlie,” he whispers, “I love you.”

His words hang in the air around us. Warming my soul. Breathing fresh air into my lungs like my life depends on it.

“Jude.”

I never thought it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly. Until Jude.

And now, here he is, confessing those very same feelings that I’ve kept to myself.

“It’s true. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. I’ve gone and fallen head over heels in love with you. Hell, I knew I was as good as gone the minute I pulled you into this whole mess right there in my grandfather’s study. I don’t need you to say it back. I don’t expect it. But I promise you that I will spend every day earning your love.”

“I love you,” I blurt out.

There. I said it. Three little words that I’ve held back for what feels like forever.

“I wanted to hate you, I did,” I confess. “I was so mad at the situation and you.”

That’s the truth. Part of me still thinks that things would be easier if I hated him.

“And yet, every moment I’ve spent with you, I’ve found myself falling. I wanted to tell you, but the time never felt right. I just figured I’d tell you today. And it would be special and make this whole charade more…real. Then all this happened,” I wave a hand in the air. “And there were more pressing things and…”

“I need you, Charlie.” Jude presses his lips to mine in a fever of passion and the glass he was holding falls to the plush carpet as he cups my face.

I don’t have to tell him that he has me.

All of me.

My body does the talking for me in the way it responds to his touch.

It’s been this way since the very first time I gave myself to him.

There’s no need for foreplay as Jude sheds his clothes in front of me. The room around us suddenly feels warmer and heat pools between my thighs. Once he’s completely naked before me, he reaches behind me to masterfully unzip the linen dress I’m wearing then brushes it off my shoulders. It unceremoniously falls to the floor at my feet. The hiss that slips from his mouth as he takes in the white lace thong and matching bra I’m wearing, makes my whole body flush even more.

“Divine perfection, my wife.”

A content sigh escapes me.

His wife.

I am his.

Forever.

In sickness and in health.

In chaos and in calm.

For better or for worse.

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